40,000 Former Convicts in Maryland Just Got New Voting Rights. Here’s How It Happened
Just in time for this year’s presidential primary, a new law in Maryland will allow former offenders on probation or parole the right to vote.
YES! Article archive
Democracy
How Women-Led Movements Are Redefining Power, From California to Nepal
In the face of corporate domination, economic injustice, and climate change, movements led by women offer a revolutionary path.
How to Pick a President Without Being Sexist
The presidential race is basically an expensive hiring process with 319 million stakeholders. If businesses and government agencies go to such great lengths to eliminate gender bias in their hiring, shouldn’t we do the same for our elections?
The Program Helping Youth Unify the Most Segregated City in America
In Chicago, low-income kids don’t usually have the opportunity to travel outside their own neighborhoods. My Block, My Hood, My City is changing that.
The Feminist Rappers Who Are Updating Sweden’s Old-Fashioned Definition of Rape
In Sweden, Femtastic gives survivors of sexual violence a voice in a male-dominated music industry.
A Kentucky Domestic Violence Shelter Helps Women Grow Food—and Confidence
Many survivors of domestic violence have had their attempts at work and creativity sabotaged for years. On these 40 acres of rolling farmland, they're being restored.
Is Cooking the Future of Medicine?
At Tulane’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, students are learning to pair nutrition with allopathic care—and other schools are catching on.
Brooklyn Youth Create Jobs (and Community Roots) Through Local Compost Program
This neighborhood made gardens out of vacant lots to tackle gentrification and high youth unemployment.
Flint Whistleblowers Who Exposed Their Poisoned Water: We’re Just Getting Started
Long before the state declared an emergency in Flint, Michigan, a pastor, a mother, and an attorney teamed up to reveal the state’s lies about their drinking water.
White Privilege II Showed Me What an Unruly Mess We’re In
A Seattle music writer quoted in Macklemore’s controversial new song appreciates how it speaks to young white people—but wishes it had gone further.
Why Young Latinos in Rural California Support Sanders
In California’s predominantly Spanish speaking Eastern Coachella Valley, younger Latinos are showing support for Sanders, upending the narrative that his appeal does not extend beyond white voters.
A Bold Shift to Make Public Schools Serve Low-Income Students
Last year, New York City began turning schools in poor neighborhoods into community schools—combining rigorous instruction and extracurricular enrichment with a broad social support system.
How One Affluent Town Helps Its Neediest Students Get Into (and Stay In) College
In New England, a community program matches college-savvy parents with first-generation college-bound students to help them navigate the overwhelming application process.
New York’s “Carwasheros” Push for Safer, Fairer Workplaces
Car washes are the “wild, wild West” of workplace regulation. The Car Wash Accountability Act will improve that—if it is ever implemented.
What the Oregon Standoff Is Really About
The people occupying a wildlife reserve in eastern Oregon say they’re speaking for ranchers. But a closer look shows they’re associated with movements most people find alienating. If we want to build any solidarity with those living in rural areas, we need to understand the difference.
How This Black Student Used Documents and DNA to Find Her Slave Ancestors
Like many African Americans, Lakisha David wanted to trace the roots of her family, who for years were documented only as property. Here’s how she did it.
How Do You Explain Where You Came From When Your Grandparents Were Immigrants?
As a child of Indian immigrants, Rupa Shenoy has learned when strangers ask her where she’s from, they don't want to hear “Iowa.”
Every 30 Seconds a Latino in the U.S. Turns 18. The Challenge Is Getting Them to Vote
If they vote more, Latino youth can be a powerful force in coming elections.
3 Ways to Bring David Bowie’s Spirit to Your Social Change Work
David Bowie pushed boundaries, challenged norms, and helped pop culture become more inclusive. Here’s how to keep his legacy alive.
In Photos: The Seed-Saving Farmers Who Pass Down Land to Their Daughters
In northeastern India’s mountainous state of Meghalaya, youngest daughters inherit the land—and the ancient food heritage of their mothers.
Uber’s Immigrant Drivers Look Forward to Better Pay—and Bigger Voice
A union for Seattle Uber drivers means finally having the right to a two-way conversation with their multibillion-dollar employer.
How Filipina Beauty Queens Are Lobbying for Trans Rights
In the first episode of their new documentary series, A Woman's Place, filmmakers explain how transgender beauty queens are lobbying for their rights outside of pageants.
Project Fatherhood: Uniting the Men of LA’s Toughest Communities
In the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, Project Fatherhood helps end the cycle of absent fathers and gives men a place to discuss what it means to be dads, partners, and sons in one of the city's roughest areas.
Six Hopeful Breakthroughs from 2015
Despite conflicts and crises at home and abroad, 2015 offered glimpses of the road to a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world.
Black Activists Need Black-Only Spaces. Here’s Why We Should Respect That
What the media are missing in the controversial call for safe spaces.
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